Top 10 Tips for Recession-Proofing

Your Business  

1. Focus on efficienciesWhen times get tough, most people think about

cutting back on their expenses, which is excellent advice if they have internal waste. But watch out for the trap of decreasing your margins. You can only

cut costs so much. Eventually you also need to focus on the efficiencies of systems employed to

operate your business. For example, almost every business could improve its production process by

revamping employee job descriptions and workflow. 

2. Embrace automation

While automating your production processes may absorb some cash up front, if you can

afford it, it’s almost always worth the investment in the long run. The timing is usually right, because the cost of buying

equipment typically comes down in a sliding economy. 

3. Train, train, and train some more

Most business owners hire employees, and expect them to fit right in and do a great job. Then they get frustrated when things don’t instantly work out the

way they planned. Instead, start every new hire with a comprehensive training program and establish a regular training schedule going forward. Depending on the job, this can often be accomplished in as little

as 10 min per week. 

4. Develop a Culture of Excellence

This is achieved when everyone in the organization plays an active role in bettering the company. Most people go to work to do a

job. But in a recession-proof company, everyone understands the bigger picture and

their connection to it. 

5. Develop Leadership

No company can grow its value significantly without leaders. These are the people who are willing to take a good idea, and run with it all the way to the finish

line. Unfortunately, this is often the exclusive domain of one or two people at the top of an organizational

chart, severely limiting the potential of the company in question. The solution is to give your people as much

responsibility as they can handle, pushing them to sharpen their leadership skills on a daily basis. You

may be surprised at how well they perform, given half a chance. 

6. Re-negotiate your contracts

Now is a great time to re-negotiate with manufacturers who have seen a reduction in

their sales volumes but- in an effort to maintain economies of scale- haven’t yet

reduced their production volumes. 

7. Consider ways to outsource manufacturing

Outsourcing isn’t the exclusive domain of the “big guys” any more. It is now possible for businesses of

all sizes to outsource some or all of their manufacturing to other parts of the world, such as China, India or Mexico. **However, if sustainable

business practices are important to you, make sure you do thorough checks on the manufacturing processes used by your outsourced suppliers,

whoever they are. 

8. Consider buying struggling competitors as a recession-

proofing strategy

Though not the simplest strategy, this can be a relatively quick way to increase market share,

reduce proportional overhead and improve economies of scale. Taking over an existing

company has its own particular set of challenges of course, but when it works, it can be highly effective. 

9. Change up your market offering

Look at ways that either expanding or decreasing your product offering will help leverage the shifting economic climate. 

10. Secure your intellectual property

Every business is started and built on the ideas of its founder. And as it grows, these ideas can evolve into a wide variety of proprietary items, providing various levels of value to the business. These could include things like, proprietary

formulas, manufacturing techniques, company logos, marketing tag lines, and so on. While many of these items may be associated with the business from a customer’s

perspective, some may still be legally associated with the owner, reducing the company's value when it's time to sell.

The good news is these types of issues can typically be resolved fairly easily with a visit to an intellectual property

rights lawyer… 

Mark Wardell is President & Founder of Wardell International , an advisory group that helps business owners plan and execute the growth of their companies. The author of seven business books, Mark also writes regularly for several national & international business publications. Email him at mark@wardell.biz.